


The Babadook Incident

by Vodka112



Series: Earth-P (Pendulum) [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Teen Titans - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Jason Todd is Gay, Jason Todd is Red X, Joseph William Wilson is Gay, LGBTQ Themes, or memes to be precise.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-27
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-04-13 17:17:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14117136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vodka112/pseuds/Vodka112
Summary: Where Red X is a walking talking trash meme.





	The Babadook Incident

**Author's Note:**

> This comes way later in the story, when Kon starts spending his weekends with the Titans. Jason runs away from Gotham, resumes being Red X and lives temporarily at Titans Tower where he meets Joey. Miguel is the Mayor's son in this series and as such, he is always on his toes, representing the community. That makes him the perfect target to Jason's trolling.

There's screaming coming from the kitchen. Kon tiptoes his way over and greets Garfield on his perch by the door. The shapeshifter moves to let him pass, clutching a bowl of cheese puffs to his chest.

"What's going on?" Kon asks even as he turns his head towards the commotion.

It looks like most of the residents in the tower had gathered around, watching the two heroes arguing furiously with each other. Red X has taken off his helmet, tucked under his arm and every once in a while he looks like he's restraining himself from lobbing it at his opponent. Bunker aka Miguel, on the other hand, is still in his boxers and shirt. His hair is disheveled as if he ran his fingers through it one too many times.

"I'm telling you, Babadook is LGBT!" Red X hollers.

"No, he isn't! Stop being a walking meme!" Miguel hollers back.

"Do you want me to make you a powerpoint? Look, according to--"

Miguel groans and he looks up at the ceiling for help. "Madre de dios!"

"That's not a good argument. C'mon, stay with me here..."

"It's the meme about that horror movie on Netflix," Garfield says. Kon takes a handful of cheese puffs from the bowl. "They've been at it for a while."

Kon's eyes land on Robin, her loud guffaws ringing up the high ceiling. Wondergirl is laughing behind her. Nightwing has his hand on his lips, looking pensive, but Kon can see he's smiling underneath that. Jericho is perched on the couch closer to the pair, Koriand'r beside him, and then Victor. Raven, Tanya and Kaldur'ahm are sitting on the opposite couch. There's a movie paused on the television screen. Thankfully, Impulse is missing, with his new best friend Blue Beetle. Kon doesn't need to sidestep the younger boy's unfounded jealousy.

"Can't you two agree to disagree?" Jericho interjects using the mechanical voice on his phone. He hand signs at the same time, his fingers drawing what looks like complex shapes in the air. Kon hasn't tried learning sign language yet so he's grateful for the voice.

"Joey! How could you?!" Red X replies, his voice gone anguished and melodramatic. "We have to make a stand! Babadook didn't come out of the closet for this!"

"Oh, don't you start, pendejo," Bunker mutters under his breath. "Babadook isn't gay! He's not LGBTQIA+!"

Nightwing claps his hand as he steps closer to the pair. "Ladies, ladies. You're both beautiful," he says as he rests his arms on Red X and Bunker's shoulders.

Robin laughs harder at that and the group responds with a round of giggles and snickers. Kon is taken by it as well, laughing under his breath despite not knowing what was going on. He tries to take another handful of cheese puffs but Garfield shields the bowl with his body. Kon manages to snatch one last piece and shove it in his mouth.

"This is a queens' party. Go away," Red X answers, shoving Nightwing away with a hand on his face.

"Stop calling us queens. We're gay. Its that simple. And before you get started, no, Babadook isn't gay. I refuse to call a murdering ghost monster part of my people," Bunker replies.

Red X gasps in horror. "You dare shun Babadook? He's part of this family whether you like it or not. Full Inclusivity or nothing!"

Jericho starts at that, covering his eyes with his hand and laughing at the ceiling.

Nightwing coughs into his fist. "We're actually needed at the Watchtower. Batman has plans to debrief us about the mission next week."

"In that case, we better get moving." Red X puts his helmet on in one smooth motion. "We're not done talking about this," he says towards Miguel, who growls in answer.

* * *

Robin has to explain the whole thing to Kon while the rest of the Titans got suited up for the debrief. If she set him up with a few social media accounts on the way, well, other clones had it worse.

Nightwing leads the group after they all zeta-d into the floating satellite. The last time Kon was here, he almost got imprisoned by the Justice League for being a Luthor-made WMD. It hasn't changed much since, still sleek and metal, all business-like and cold.

Batman is waiting for them past the other teleportation landings, typing on the holographic screen before him. Kon wonders if the technology was born from Clark's Fortress of Solitude. He turns around when the group reaches the elevated platform to the hushed argument still brewing between Red X and Bunker.

"--And I'm telling you, the rules definitely apply to the film," Red X says, his voice getting louder and drawing attention. Then he turns to face Batman. "Hey, Babadook. How's it hangin'?"

Robin lets out a tiny squeal before holding her mouth in her hands. Kon has to look down and right to hide the grin spreading on his face and in his peripheral, he sees Nightwing doing the same thing. Bunker's face has turned a dark shade of red.

Batman takes one long look at them. "I'm giving you a few minutes to compose yourselves." Then he makes for one of the sliding doors, but before that, he looks at Robin and says, "It's fine. You can laugh."

Robin's squealing laughter ends up following him on the way out. She's dropped on all fours, laughing down at the floor. Even Nightwing has broken down, his shoulders shaking as he leans heavily on Red X. Everyone is laughing and wheezing, gasping in air to breathe.

Bunker's face is turning a deep shade of purple. "My hero career: in pieces because of a meme."

"Oh, my god!" Robin keeps chanting. "You have a death wish, Red! Oh, my god!"

"What? Like I'm wrong?" Red X nonchalantly comments as he singlehandedly brought the Titans to their knees.

"Did you see his face?!" Robin squeaks, starting another round of laughter. Kon has crouched down, holding his stomach for laughing so hard. He's wiping tears from his eyes as he pats Red X's other shoulder.

* * *

The raucous sound of teenagers laughing calls Diana's attention. She makes it down the hallway towards the teleportation pads and sees Bruce on the corner behind the close door. Clark has yet to make his appearance.

"Is there a problem?" She asks. It's always prudent to ask first before making assumptions.

Bruce smiles at her, quick, cutting and wholly Batman. "No problem," he answers before turning back to his datapad.

Diana opens the surveillance channel for the room. Ever since walking in on Oliver and Dinah in the training rooms, it's been deemed necessary to install alerts and surveillance into almost every room in the Watchtower. The children are in all forms of prostration and they seemed to be laughing. Red X is the only one standing tall and proud.

She turns her attention at Bruce. The man is working diligently on his datapad, his lips arched in amusement. Then she turns off the channel.

"Jason. He is talking with you again," Diana remarks.

Bruce's fingers stop moving. "You could say that," he replies a breath after, his fingers resuming their work.

"That is good news." She approaches him with her hand outstretched. She hovers her palm on his shoulder till he nods. She grips his shoulder. "That is very good news, my friend."

Bruce raises his hand to grip hers for a moment before he steps away. "It's too early to celebrate. If he has his way, the whole caped community will be laughing at my expense."

"It's not that bad, being the butt of the joke," Clark interjects. His face is turned towards the room, obviously using his powers to see through the metal to the children behind it. Then he sends a toothy grin at Bruce. "Babadook."

"Hm. Very mature."

Diana's brow furrowed. "I have to admit I do not understand the reference."

"I'll send you an email later," Clark replies.

Bruce lets out a clipped sigh disguised in a huff before he turns off his datapad. Diana had the passing thought to offer him assistance when he says, "I'm fine. I don't need help wrangling some teenagers."

"The more the merrier," Clark replies, matching Bruce's stride towards the sliding doors. He winks at Diana in passing.

"I don't need your help."

"We'd love to meet the next generation of heroes," Diana adds, delighting in the twitch Bruce's jaw makes when she matches her strides with his.

The door slides open and the laughter dies away almost immediately, giving birth to stilling silence. Red X manages a soft, "Oh, shit. That's Wonder Woman."

Diana makes a point of smiling at the boy and almost misses Nightwing elbowing him childishly.

Batman wastes no time giving his presentation. However, the gaiety of before had a profound effect on the children. Diana doubts they would be this relaxed and open if Batman had presented himself as he usually did, hard and fearsome like a gargoyle. Red X stood behind the group whereas Nightwing stood beside their mentor. Diana wonders if he planned this, breaking the ice so his younger teammates could find the courage to be themselves.

Batman finishes the debrief and spends little time interacting with the children. The older ones are huddled together, talking further schematics about their mission. The younger ones have gathered around Clark, glowing pride on their faces as he praises their diligence. Some are hovering near her, wanting her blessing and acceptance. To her surprise, this crowd includes Red X.

After catching up with Cassie, she makes her way to the edge of the group, near the shadows where the Bats are holding court. Red X still hasn't removed his helmet but he straightens from his slouch against the wall when she walks near.

"H-hello," he greets.

"Hello," Diana answers. "I have heard good things about you, Red X."

"Oh, crap, uhm. Whoever said that might be lying," he replies, his hand going to the back of his nape before hooking around his collar. He stretches the fabric away from his neck. "I haven't been keeping a good track record of my... exploits these days."

"Batman is very proud of you."

"Oh."

The boy looked discomforted by that knowledge. Diana offers him her hand in a handshake. Red X clasps it, his grip nice and firm.

"You have been dearly missed. I hope you can forgive him," she asks.

Red X ducked his head and shuffled his feet. "I can't promise anything."

Diana smiles. "That is more than enough to start."

She lets go of his hand just as Batman slinks by. "Red X, a word," he says. Then he turns around and heads for the doors.

Red X tips his head in goodbye and Diana reciprocates. Turning back to the crowd, she habitually looks for a head of long black hair. Some people had been blessed to come back to this world. Not all are as lucky and Diana feels her grief in the sag of her shoulders and the constricting sensation around her heart.

Nothing will ever cut as deep as losing her beloved amazonian sister, Donna. She died like a warrior and Diana would rather she survived. Younger sisters and apprentices shouldn't enter the Elysian fields before their elders, before their masters.

She supposes the same can be said of Batman. The boy's death has changed him for the worse and his revival has shaken his core, enough that he drove away the very person that mattered to him.

Diana resolves to be better. If the fates decide to bring Donna back, she will be ready.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write Jason as gay, then I realized he needed some friends. Enter Joey. Then I remembered Miguel being canonically gay.
> 
> Then I read that meme on tumblr. Sorry Miguel. Your elders are tired of adulting. Its worth breaking my hiatus, no?
> 
> Prompt taken from [this post](https://vodka112.tumblr.com/post/168373606308/surprisebitch-sparklecorpse-a-collection-of).


End file.
